EFFECT OF INFORMATION

Effect of Information on Manufacturing Business

Effect of Information on Manufacturing Business

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of information in integrating business activities in the manufacturing firm. Information plays its vital role in achieving the objectives or goals of the organisation. It is essential for providing timely product or services to the customers. Moreover, it is needed to set the targets between different departments and to ensure timely production of the goods. Organisations gather and distribute information, employees or managers also utilize data to gather information from it. Most of the information revolves in or out organisation is generated through the processing of data. We can say that data is the raw material, which than processed in orders to make information, data is not worthwhile for managers or higher authority unless it is organized into information. Data passes through different processes and then become information. The process that usually used for processing data is gathering, classification according to its type, storage, retrieval, editing, verification, aggregation, analysis, evaluation etc.

Shannon and Weaver define as information reduces the uncertainty. Another definition defines information as related to decision making. Information according to this definition reduces the available alternatives for managers. It has significant impact over the decisions of manager. For instance, an uninformed manager is subject to perform anything while, the informed manager will take decisions that is subject to lower risk. Information also plays part for the people outside organisation such as, shareholders as they want true and accurate information for the subject of their investments.

Discussion

If we can talk about information reporting within organisation, it has significant impact on operational activities. For a manufacturing company because of the effect of Globalization increasing competitiveness have achieved in its Supply Chain Process. In various enterprises, the seed of organisations are competition for responding to the demands of customers. Therefore, information is significant. True information on timely basis revolves between internal departments and external partners for taking decisions on timely basis. The information provides manufacturing company an advantage to become competitive by effectively communicating right information. Information integrates among different departments in order to forecast the sales for upcoming period, make plans for production, to identify inventory status, and plans for promotion of products (Loh et. al, 2007, pp. 432-434). Manufacturing organisation make its effort to manage information so that it has the chance to clearly focus over organisational objectives such as, enhance performance, getting competitive advantage, get past information to use for the purpose of future decisions and to become competitive and innovative.

Information can be accessed at three different stages such as, before, during, and after activities. Many strategies have followed by Manufacturing based company that involves managing or gathering information in to databases so that it can be used by different departments to ensure timely decision-making. Manufacturing firms also utilize information strategies such as, giving reward to employees and other workers to share their information, cross project learning to enhance the efficiency between different departments, best ...